仁王經疏 3.53

3.53

Commentary: Second, citing King Samantaprabha to verify the protection of the person above. The text falls into two parts: first, clarifying the calamity; later, from "that Samantaprabha" down, distinguishing the capacity to protect against the calamity. This is the first part. Within it there are three parts: first, clarifying the causes and conditions of Kalmāṣapāda; next, receiving the teaching of a heterodox master; and finally, the actual undertaking of the calamity. This is the first part. As for 'Kalmāṣapāda', the explanation has three aspects. First, as explained in the Damamūka-nidāna-sūtra, he was therefore named King Kalmāṣapāda; in Chinese, Bozu ("mottled feet"), also called Banzu ("spotted feet"). King Bharata led the four kinds of troops into the mountains to hunt. He encountered a tigress-lion whose lustful desire was intense, which forced the king to engage in sexual intercourse; the king was frightened and complied. The lioness conceived, and when her days were fulfilled, she gave birth to a male child. His whole body resembled a human, except that his feet were spotted like a lion's. Carrying him in her mouth, she returned him to the king; the king took him as his child and named him Kalmāṣapāda. In the second explanation: the causes and conditions of Kalmāṣapāda's flying and eating humans are also as in the Damamūka-nidāna-sūtra. King Kalmāṣapāda used to make offerings daily to a seer, constantly serving pure food unmixed with fish or meat. It happened that one day the seer did not come, and a celestial spirit transformed into the appearance of a seer, deceitfully entered the king's quarters, and demanded fish and meat to eat. The original seer returned the next day on schedule, and the king served meat; the seer became angry, wondering why he was being tested, and caused the king constantly to eat human flesh for the next twelve years. When the seer finished speaking, he flew back into the mountains. Later, the kitchen supervisor forgot and failed to prepare [meat]. With no other plan at the moment, he went outside to seek meat, and saw a dead child lying on the ground, plump and pale. Thinking that this would meet the emergency, he removed the head and feet, prepared the food, and offered it to the king. Eating it, the king found it very delicious, and asked its origin; the cook answered truthfully. The king said: 'From now on, always use this meat.' The cook feared the king, so he specifically captured children and killed them for food, offering them to the king day after day. When the people of the state lost their children, they went everywhere searching, and saw the cook dragging another's child, tying him up. The people reported this to the king, and the king said: 'It was my command.' Hearing this, the people all said: 'This king is our great enemy!' Waiting until the king went to the pool to bathe, an ambush seized him. Once seized, the king addressed the people: 'I beg you for one pardon; hereafter I will kill no more.' The people would not permit it, so the king made a vow: 'May all the good deeds I have cultivated up to now be redirected to make me today transform into a rākṣasa who flies and eats humans!' Having spoken, he immediately flew off and cried out in the sky: 'From now on, I will in turn eat your beloved wives and children!' Hearing this, the people hid and fled. Many rākṣasas attached themselves to him as his retinue; his followers gradually grew, and the harm he caused became wider. Later the rākṣasas said to Kalmāṣapāda: 'We are the king's retinue; the king should now seize a thousand kings for our sake and hold a great feast.' Kalmāṣapāda agreed, and went to capture them one by one. Having captured nine hundred and ninety-nine kings, only one king was missing, and he could not hold the feast. The kings each said: 'Today we have nowhere to turn. If King Sutasoma is captured, he possesses great skillful means and can save our lives.' Having made this plan, they said to Kalmāṣapāda: 'You wish to hold a feast; King Sutasoma has an exalted reputation and virtue. If you can bring him, your royal feast will be complete.' Then the rākṣasa king flew off to seize him. It happened that King Sutasoma came out of the city toward the garden and entered a pool wishing to bathe. On the road he saw a mendicant begging from him; the king said: 'Wait until I return from bathing, and I will give alms to you, seeker of the Way.' Just as the king entered the pool, the rākṣasa king flew down from the sky, seized King Sutasoma, and placed him in his original mountain. King Sutasoma wept with sorrow and grief. King Kalmāṣapāda said: 'I have heard that your reputation and virtue make you the foremost man; why do you weep like a common child?' Sutasoma said: 'I do not cherish my physical life or begrudge my lifespan. This morning when going out I saw a mendicant and promised him an alms; encountering you bringing me here, I feared violating my sincerity and trustworthiness. It is for this reason that I grieve. I pray that the king will release me for seven days to give alms to the seeker of the Way.' Kalmāṣapāda granted it. Sutasoma quickly returned and gave alms to the seeker of the Way for seven days. At that time, a brāhmaṇa, seeing that Sutasoma intended to return to face death and fearing he would yearn for his state, recited a verse for the king. The verse is identical to this sūtra's, eight lines being similar, with only one line, "Devas, dragons, humans, and ghosts perish therein," differing from this sūtra. Hearing the verse, Sutasoma contemplated its meaning with joy, immediately installed his crown prince to take his place as king, and bade farewell to go to his death. On that day, Kalmāṣapāda watched for him from afar and saw Sutasoma coming, his countenance joyful. Kalmāṣapāda was surprised and asked: 'You are coming to your death now; why are you joyful?' Sutasoma replied: 'The Great King's grace was generous, granting me seven days to give alms to the seeker of the Way. Moreover, I heard the wondrous Dharma and my mind became open and liberated. My vow being fulfilled, though I come to face death, my mind is joyful and free from sorrow.' Kalmāṣapāda asked: 'What Dharma did you hear? Try speaking it for me.' Sutasoma then proclaimed for him the wondrous Dharma of the eight verses he had heard, and further explained for him the retribution for the sin of killing living beings. Hearing this, Kalmāṣapāda immediately released the kings, each returning to his own state. King Sutasoma then commanded his troops to escort Kalmāṣapāda back, settling him in his own state and restoring his former royal throne. King Sutasoma was Śākyamuni Buddha; King Kalmāṣapāda was Aṅgulimāla. Third, clarifying that various sūtras speak of Kalmāṣapāda differently: as explained in the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, King Kalmāṣapāda is named King Hariṇapāda ("Deer-Foot"); because he was definitely like a spotted deer, he was named Deer-Foot; he was also named King Two-Wings; it only says that Deer-Foot wished to eat one hundred kings. As explained in the Samantaprabha-rāja-sūtra, King Kalmāṣapāda was named King Hequn; entering the mountains, he saw a great tree spirit and promised to offer one hundred kings. King Samantaprabha proclaimed four verses for King Hequn; hearing the verses, King Hequn released Samantaprabha and the ninety-nine kings. This Benevolent Kings Sūtra and the Damamūka-nidāna-sūtra properly speak of one thousand kings. However, these various sūtras originally refer to one and the same manifestation; it is merely that due to differences in what people saw and heard, distinctions were made.